This is an opinion piece by the author and NOT THE VIEWS OF Bizna Digital Services
I will save you a long discourse on the role business plays in determining the political future of a nation and go straight to why businesses should not vote or support the Jubilee Party.
1. Corruption
Corruption and the perception of corruption has been monumental to say the least. Corruption has become a hallmark of the Jubilee administration with corruption allegations attending to every major project undertaken in the last four years. Corruption at both the national and county levels has graduated to “Mega” status where money is looted in billions or hundreds of millions. This is as the local mwananchi has become more and more impoverished. It is a lot harder now to make ends meet for working citizens than it was four years ago, when Jubilee came to power.
The situation has been exacerbated by the opposition who have abandoned everything to create a perception of corruption with Raila Odinga taking up the activist role of whistle blowing. While this has brought to light corruption scandals such as the infamous NYS scandal, using corruption to disrupt government operations has watered down public sensitivity to corruption with some dismissing corruption allegations as mere propaganda, witch-hunt or politics.
Corruption has hurt Kenyan businesses badly especially the small businesses. Whereas they were flourishing or barely surviving, corruption cartels have edged them out snuffing the out completely.
2. Tribalism
The Jubilee administration has made the county’s leadership largely a preserve of the two leading tribes. Appointments made the government are testament of what the Jubilee administration perceive the different tribes which is guided by the voting patterns. While it is expected for the administration to “reward” their people, total or near total exclusion of entire tribes in the running the affairs of a nation is totally unacceptable!
Equally abhorrent is dish out government appointments to only two tribes from top to bottom. In similar fashion, business opportunities go to the elites of the ruling tribes effectively denying other qualified and able businesses a chance to compete fairly.
3. Favouring big businesses over small businesses
Continuing with a tradition from the Kibaki era, the President Uhuru Kenyatta has embraced big businesses under the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) banner. KEPSA is largely perceived as a private club for big businesses and power brokers who hide behind the curtain of business.
The Presidents dalliance with this group has greatly hurt the fortunes of a large number of businesses because her members use the platform to grow their own businesses or push for policies that disenfranchise small businesses. Since its existence, KEPSA has done little for ordinary businesses but their officials have grown their businesses in leaps and bounds and landed plum government jobs joining government cartels.
Small businesses, youth and women in business have received no recognition or support from the Jubilee government. Consequently many businesses have shut down, jobs lost and hundreds of thousands condemned to poverty but the government seems completely oblivious of the plight of this critical sector of the economy.
4. Influx cheap imported goods
Contrary to the protectionism displayed President Donald Trump of the United States of America and other presidents across the world, Kenya has become a dumping ground for cheap imports from toothpicks to eggs and toiletries. Kenyan supermarkets stock up to more than 50% imported goods and to make matters worse, they are either sold at the same price or lower than locally produced goods. The question is, how does the government expect our industries to grow?
This is against a backdrop of much improved quality of locally produced goods and an ever-increasing cost of production for local manufacturers. To add insult to injury, our neighbours (Kenya’s traditional markets) have begun to restrict Kenyan goods from entering their markets and the government has done little to sustain and grow our exports.
5. Impunity of County Governments
The impunity of the County Governments is unprecedented. A case is point is the heinous murder of the former Kitui mayor, Martha Mwangangi by a Kitui County Government officer when she and former Minister Charity Ngilu joined traders in Kitui town to protest traders eviction from a market in the town. Majority of the County Governments do not provide the requisite services or provide sub-standard services to traders yet expect them to pay fully for those services.
In other instances, County Governments have gained the notoriety of having resident cartels where suppliers will be sourced from other parts of the country especially Nairobi denying locals deserved and much needed opportunities as was the case with the Kilifi County scandal. That is why you are likely to meet governors and county officials in leading hotels in Nairobi and not at their offices in the counties. When locals get jobs, their payments are delayed or frustrated.
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